OPPORTUNITIES FOR WRITERS AT MANX LITFEST 2018

Sep 23, 2018 7:31:00 PM

One of the key elements of each Manx Litfest is providing opportunities for writers, illustrators and storytellers to learn more about their craft and to challenge themselves against other writers – and for this year’s festival (September 25-30) we have some fantastic events lined up.

Litfest 2018 gets underway with the Poetry Slam at Noa Bakehouse, 8pm on Tuesday, September 25. While the slots for taking part have already been filled, the slam can be an inspiring event for poets – and indeed all writers – who aren’t taking part.

On Wednesday, September 26 we have two workshops taking place at St Andrew’s Church in Andreas – Spinning New Tales From Old, with authorZoe Gilbert(11.30am-1.00pm) – and Literary Songwriting, withThe Bookshop Band(1.30pm-2.30pm). Tickets for Zoe’s workshop are £15, and £10 for The Bookshop Band – however, if you book both, you can have them for a special combined price of £20.

On Saturday, September 29 it is the annual Litfest Writers’ Day – 9.00am until 4.00pm, at King William’s College – with panel discussions, writing masterclasses and a talk from visiting literary agentJonathan Ruppin, who is also offering 15 one-to-one pitch slots during the day. Tickets for Writers’ Day are £30.

Saturday also sees UK storytellerBen Haggartyhold a storytelling workshop at King’s Court Theatre (at King William’s College). It runs 10.30am-2.30pm – if you are attending Writers’ Day, you can opt to do Ben’s workshop rather than the writing masterclasses. However, you don’t have to be attending Writers’ Day to attend Ben’s workshop – you can book that separately (cost £25).

While we don’t have an illustration workshop this year, we are delighted to have author and illustratorChris Riddell (Children’s Laureate 2015-2017) with us – Chris is holding three events, the first for young children on Saturday afternoon (Sept 29) at our Family Day, based around his new picture book, Once Upon a Wild Wood. On Saturday night it is Poems to Live Your Life By - an evening with Chris Riddell, at Noa Bakehouse (8.00pm start) – which focuses on a new collection of classic and contemporary poetry, curated and illustrated by Chris. His final event is Goth Girl and the Sinister Symphony, for young readers age 7+ (10.30am, Sunday Sept 30 at Castletown Civic Centre). All these events should be beneficial for anyone who illustrates, or who wants to get started.

Finally, on that Sunday afternoon, it’s the Short Story Slam – which sees writers read out their stories (maximum length of six minutes), with the top three decided by a panel of judges. To enter the Short Story Slam, you need to register by midnight on Friday, Sept 14 – just the name of the story, you don’t have to submit them formally.

We hope all creatives can find something inspiring within our programme – enjoy the variety!

For full info on all the above events, and details of how to book tickets, please download our programmeHERE